


Aiko

by NovaCasonova



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Disabled OC, Gen, started as purely self-indulgent but now ive gotten invested, the oc isnt really shipped w anyone, will mostly stick to canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-08 09:03:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18891445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NovaCasonova/pseuds/NovaCasonova
Summary: “I can’t believe I’m going to be stuck on a ship with you for all of eternity,” the girl says, sporting a sling and two dark bags under her eyes. It’s been a week since that fateful day, they are both well enough to travel–or more specifically, leave the Fire Nation.“It’s only until we find the Avatar,” her brother replies, head shaved and bandaged, voice rough and gravelly. “Once we do, I can regain my honor and go home.”“Did I stutter?”Or, Zuko has a twin sister.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> huge thanks to Grindall for helping me beta this! youre amazing sweetie. also, excuse how fanfiction.net this is, i just needed to get out of this massive writers block i was in, so writing something so fun really helped (i wrote like 4000 words in two days lmaoo)

####  Chapter One

Aiko watches Zuko look over the edge of the ship, scanning the sky. They are so close the South Pole, the sun never sets. She sits on the ship’s metal deck, reading a fantasy scroll where bending doesn’t exist, and the world was at war with itself. One girl has to save her family from a pack of brutes who won’t leave them alone. It’s a good scroll, if unrealistic. The author made no efforts to hide the fact that the main character is a carbon copy of their own personality, except all of the flaws are scraped away.

She has to maneuver around the scroll with only her left hand, as her right is marred by an all-encompassing burn scar, and its remaining muscles were forever stiff and sore. She can barely twitch her fingers. There seems to be a permanent set of bags under her eyes.

She listens as her uncle’s heavy footsteps grow near. He stops beside her and sits down, smiling. “Would you like to play a game of Pai Sho with me?” he asks, laying the pieces across the table.

“I’m reading,” Aiko says coldly, pulling her scroll closer to her chest. It is the only scroll on the ship not dedicated to counting supplies and sending messages. It is  _ hers. _

“Ah, sharpening your mind, I see,” Uncle says, ever patient. He turns to Zuko. “How about you? Would you care to indulge an old man?”

“No thanks, Uncle,” Zuko callously replies.  _ He must be in a bad mood today. Then again, when is he not in a bad mood. _ The three were silent for a while, each in their own heads. The cold bites at Aiko’s cheeks and she regrets insisting on wearing Fire Nation clothes today. Not that she would ever admit to it – she has too much pride for that. Spirits damn this barren place, it's nothing but an endless landscape of ice, icy water and, you guessed it, ice. She hopes that Zuko would soon realize that drifting through icebergs was useless, and they should look for the Avatar in some place warm, with nice inns.

Suddenly, Aiko is pulled out of her thoughts by the grim words of her brother. “ _ Finally _ .” He whips around, pointing at the sky. “Aiko! Uncle! Do you realize what this means?”

“That I won’t get to finish my game?” Uncle asks, sipping tea and refusing to look up from his game.

Zuko gives off a shark-like grin. “It means our search, it’s about to come to an end.”

Aiko’s brows knot with confusion. “Zuko, what happened?”

His voice rises, more passionate than she’s seen in months. “Look! Don’t you see that light came from an incredibly powerful source, only the Avatar could be at the center of it!”

Aiko’s wild eyes follow Zuko’s finger to the brilliant pillar of light in the sky, just as it fizzles away. She rushes to stand, heart racing and mouth agape.

“Or, it’s just the celestial lights,” Uncle Iroh calmly says, gesturing at the sky with his tea. “Both of you have been down this road before. I don’t want you to get too excited over nothing. Please, sit. Join me for a cup of calming Jasmine tea.”

Aiko’s face flushes.  _ Stupid. Uncle’s right, and now I look like a fool. Better to just sit down and listen to him. Only an idiot would show such excitement over nothing. We’ve been looking for three years, and we’re going to be looking for the rest of my life, or until I finally have enough of Zuko and jump off the edge of this ship and live the rest of my life as a hermit. Only an idiot would be so blind as to how impossible this is. _

She shoves down the urge to angrily stomp off as she listens to her brother order the crew to go towards the light.  _ Only an idiot would. _

Uncle reluctantly puts down a tile and stands; his eyebrows giving the back of Zuko’s head a fearsome look. The wind picks up and she looks up at the southern lights that now hang over the sky, allowing herself to feel the littlest bit of hope.

 

~

 

Aiko has been sitting on the deck of the ship for hours now. She’d long since finished the scroll, and is now practicing her calligraphy. Her right hand was made practically immobile, so she has to learn to write all over again. She used to be a good painter, and her mom would let Aiko practice painting her face. Now, her handwriting looks like chicken-pig scratch, and she can’t draw to save her life.

The sun is as low as it’ll get down here, and her eyelids are heavy. She faintly hears Uncle and Zuko talking on the top of the ship.  _ Knowing Uncle, he’s probably trying to convince Zuko to go to sleep – and knowing Zuko, that will never happen. _

She looks up at the sky, nearly dark save for the blue energy that flows and twists in the horizon. It’s only gotten colder, but Aiko wouldn’t be caught dead wearing warmer clothes. Any firebender worth their salt should be able to stand a little frost, and to wear a coat would be an admission of defeat to Uncle, who had insisted she wear one that morning.

She glances up towards the top deck, where she sees both Zuko and Uncle had gone inside. Finally, she is alone.

The girl puts down her ink pen and stands, walking to the center of the deck. She centers herself and breathes deeply, as Uncle showed her. Putting her right hand behind her back, she falls into a firebending stance. Aiko begins to move swiftly, gathering momentum with her left hand and shifting on her feet to shove flame into existence. She makes a sweeping kick with one of her long legs, producing a roaring arc of fire, and struggles to balance onto the next foot. 

This level of firebending was reliant on sweeping kicks and fancy footwork, with an acute understanding of rhythm. Aiko was terrible at it. Firebenders were meant to stand their ground and  _ attack _ , not dance around their opponent like some flighty waterbender. However, Aiko had discovered not long after recovering that she can’t bend with her right hand, because its chi is twisted and bent. She’d soon realized that bending with only one good hand made her an even worse firebender, and so she has to rely on her legs to pick up the slack. It was embarrassing.

She continues for about an hour, her bending getting worse and worse. Her legs grew tired, her movements sloppy, and her footsteps heavy. Finally, she pauses, panting like an animal with sweat dripping off her forehead. She certainly isn’t cold now.

_ Only a small break. The sun won’t be down for long, and it wouldn’t be wise to run on so little sleep _ .

Aiko kneels and tucks her shoulder-length hair behind her ears. It was always getting in the way. She tries to gather herself, but it's difficult to focus with the ringing failure of her bending and writing, not to mention Zuko’s…  _ enthusiasm _ for the southern lights.

From the quiet of night come footsteps. “You know, niece, if you wanted more practice you could have just told me.”

Uncle’s voice jolts her, and she quickly stands, berating herself for being caught in such a weak position.

“Didn’t want to bother you,” she says, trying not to betray her surprise.

Uncle comes closer, examining her earlier calligraphy practice. “You are getting so much better,” he yawns. “Go to sleep, and you may find yourself even better in the morning.”

Aiko reaches her paper in a few quick strides and grabs it from his hands. “Don’t mock me Uncle, I know it’s terrible. ‘You’re getting better’ is code for ‘it still looks like trash.’ If you’re going to criticize me, at least be honest about it.” She crumples the paper, sets it ablaze, and hurls it over the side of the ship, trying not to feel like a whiny child.

Uncle keeps his voice level. “I wasn’t talking about the writing, but your bending. Although I only caught the tail end of your practice session, I see you have been trying the more complex forms. Just know, Princess Aiko, that firebending is not about muscle but –”

“Breath, yes, I know,” Aiko interrupts, crossing her arms. “You’ve told me that a million times, and I try to listen, but, how can I breathe when I’m moving so quickly; It’s a waste of time to practice something so useless.”

Uncle narrows his eyes. “I am not suggesting you stop everything to do a breathing exercise, simply that you will never become the firebender you want to be if your rhythm and movements are so erratic. First, you must master your inner fire.”

“How?”

“By doing the basics. How else?”

Aiko scowls. “I’ve  _ been _ doing the basics. I’m sorry if I sound like spoiled brat, but I’m ready. I know how to firebend, I know how to breathe, and I need to move on if I can ever become… become good.”

“You  _ do _ sound like a spoiled brat. Listen to your Uncle Iroh and go to bed. To master firebending takes decades, so you have to start out  _ right _ . Otherwise, bad habits form which will stick with you forever. Such as not sleeping!” Uncle takes Aiko’s arm and leads her inside, cheery as Aiko sulks. “Now, have I ever told you the story of the turtle-duck and the fox-hare?”

 

~

 

Aiko is ripped from her sleep from a violent banging on her door. “Aiko! We’ve found the Avatar, get  _ out _ here!”

Aiko rips off her blanket and rushes to open the door, only to see Zuko standing wide-eyed and frantic, grinning from ear to ear.

“Get up and dressed  _ now _ , a flare went up on a downed Fire Nation ship and I saw the Avatar – he really is an airbender, hiding in some  _ village _ ,” Zuko practically yells. His hands are pressed against her door frame, entire body coiled, poised on the balls of his feet. His yellow eyes are alight with something that is almost passion, but the twist of his brow suggests hate. “We’re finally going to capture him and regain our honor. The war will end, and everything will be as it should be.”

A while later, Aiko meets her twin on the top deck of their metal ship just as sun reaches the middle of the sky. Both are dressed in Fire Nation armor standing before the white landscape. “Where is he now?” Aiko asks, pressing a tired eye to their telescope.

“Do you see that cluster of igloos and huts?” Zuko points to a village made of snow and ice surrounded by a small wall. “That’s the Southern Water Tribe village, and it’s where the Avatar is hiding. Of course, the coward would come here, to the bottom of the world. Well, we found the old man anyway, and now…”

“You two will think of a thorough plan to capture one of the most legendary people in the world,” Uncle interrupts, making both flinch.  _ God, did Uncle  _ used _ to sneak up on us so much? Or did we just stop paying attention. _

“We’ll adapt to whatever the Avatar throws at us,” Aiko says, self-composed. “We have a Fire Navy ship, a fleet of trained soldiers, and the two of us against – what – a small tribal village and a 115 year old man? Thank you for your concern, Uncle, but we don’t need it. This will be quick and easy.”

For the first time in three years, Aiko allows herself to believe what she’s saying. She just might get to go home and make things up to her father, might just get off this stupid ship and eat something other than fish, might just be able to relax.

She hears Uncle sigh, deeply.  _ Sorry, Uncle, but wisdom can wait. _

Their ship steams ahead, pushing through icebergs and freezing water. The village gets closer and closer, and Aiko sees just how unimpressive it was. No defenses, other than a snow wall; only a few visible buildings, and even then they hardly qualified; and it was altogether so small that, had she not used a telescope, the village would have escaped her vision. Is this all that’s left of the Southern Water Tribe?

Eventually, they get close the shore. It is misty over here, as if the spirits didn’t want to see what was about to happen. Good. It will give them the element of surprise.

She goes down to edge of the ship, dressed with a Fire Nation breastplate and helmet. Her brother comes beside her, armor more ornamental and complex then her own. She guesses it’s because he had asked servants help him tie the strings and lace up his boots, and maybe even put on his helmet. Aiko didn’t want to bother them with such frivolous things, and it seemed to her like a sign of weakness, to have other men put your own clothes on for you.

“You’re not dressed properly,” Zuko scolds.

“I’m dressed how I want to be dressed. I need to be able to move freely to fight the most effectively,” she replies.  _ It isn’t technically a lie. I need all of the advantages I can get if what Uncle says is true and I still need to master the basics.  _ “Also, those shoulder-pads look dumb.”

As they get closer to the village, the fog becomes thicker, and, leaning over the edge of the ship, Aiko notices that their hull is cracking the ice, vibrating the water.  _ So much for the element of surprise _ .

The ship continues on, failing to slow down as it approaches the edge of the ice the tribe lived on. A look of understanding dawns on Aiko’s face as her ship divides the iceberg before finally coming to a horrendous, screeching halt, having just breached their feeble wall of snow. She turns to face Zuko, only to realize that, in becoming absorbed with the movement of the ship, she has failed to notice he went below deck, presumably to meet the villagers and demand to know the location of the Avatar.

When she leans over the ship to watch the procession, her suspicions are proven correct. She sees her brother, because who else had armor that fancy, standing on top of an iron bridge that came down from the ship. If she needs to give someone a good chase, she can always slide down the ship’s side and join her brother. For now, though, it seems unnecessary.

Zuko walks down to the village, flanked by two guards and is met by a teen that has painted his face and holds a machete of some kind. The boy charges towards Zuko, letting out a battle cry, but Aiko’s brother only kicked him aside. His head buries in snow, his weapon a stone’s throw away. Beyond him, the crowd is made up of children and old women who now cower in fear.  _ Pathetic _ .

“Where are you hiding him?” Zuko asks, practically stalking the crowd, trying to squint behind their shoulders.

A few beats of silence pass.

Suddenly, Aiko sees Zuko rip an old woman out of the crowd. “He’d be about this age, master of all elements?”

Nothing.

Zuko shoves the old woman back, where she is met by a young girl. Aiko doesn’t need the eyesight of a hawk to know that their eyes are filled with hate for the Fire Nation.

Her brother shifts into bending form before casting an arc of flame upon the villagers. They cringe back and cry out, and Aiko can ever hear the wails of a child over the fire’s roar. She frowns. Either they have the Avatar or they don’t, and it would be pointlessly cruel to torture innocent people for information they didn’t have.

“I know you’re hiding him!” Zuko yells, stepping forward, body coiled.

From behind the Fire Nation soldiers, she sees the boy with face paint who’d charged Zuko come up from behind him, grabbing his weapon from the snow. Again, he attacks with a battle cry, giving away what little advantage he has.  _ His form is weak, and he has no plan other than “attack the imperial firebender.” Idiot. _

Zuko ducks, using the boy’s momentum against him, sending him flying. The boy crashes into the snow with a grunt, but pushes off his feet to escape Zuko’s blast. The boy, whose face paint was now nearly taken off by the snow, rolls to the side, landing to throw a boomerang at Zuko, who dodges it with a grunt. The boomerang flies behind him, beyond Aiko’s field of vision.

The boy, still crouching on the ground, is tossed a spear by one of the children in the crowd. He stands; charging towards Zuko like one would a buffalo-elephant. Unlike buffalo-elephants, however, Zuko breaks the spear with his arm just as the boy gets close, grabbing it from him. He knocks the water-tribe boy in the head several times, and the boy falls to the ground, rubbing his head.

_ Oh, look. Here the boomerang comes. _

It knocks into Zuko’s helmet with a bang, making him stumble, and Aiko can’t help but let out a burst of laughter. She sees him twist around to glare up at her, before turning back to the water tribe. His fists ignite in flame and she can practically feel the waves of aggression coming off him.  _ Oh boy _ . Aiko resists the urge to look away.

Suddenly, from the icy waters, emerges a bald boy dressed in orange riding a penguin-seal, rocketing towards her brother. The stranger crashes into Zuko, flipping her brother onto his back and knocking his helmet off. He lands beside his guards, head planted in the snow. Aiko snickers. Her brother had just been struck aside by a water-tribe idiot with a boomerang and some boy on a penguin-seal – she is never going to let him forget this.

The boy in orange ( _ That’s strange, everyone else is dressed in blue _ ) stops in front of the crowd, met with cheers. As he pauses, Aiko squints, struggling to make out his details. His outfit was unusual, a fashion she’d never seen; he had some blue shape on his head; and a long wooden staff.  _ Could it be  _ –  _ no, he is much too young. _

The boy exchanges words with the villager, settling down with his legs crossed. Zuko rises, and Aiko is sure that there is murder in his eyes. She watches as he sends the guards to surround the boy, before settling into a firebending form, stance wide and deep.

The boy stands, wielding his staff like a weapon. Strangely, he doesn’t seem scared, which confounds her. Not that she would ever admit it, but if faced with her brother in an Agni Kai, Aiko is unsure she’d win.

The guards march closer to the boy, closing him in at all sides. The boy swings his staff and plumbs of snow fly into the air, leading Aiko to briefly freeze before jumping down the side of the ship. Her legs carry her down the metal hull, seemingly separate from her body. There isn’t time to think, only her instincts screaming that no such move could’ve been made by anyone other than an airbender.  _ It has to be the Avatar _ .

Aiko lands beside Zuko, watching him melt the snow off his shoulders from the corner of her eye. Both deepen into firebending stances, side by side. Aiko’s body is thrumming with excitement, an emotion almost foreign after three years chasing fairy tales.

“Looking for me?” the boy asks, standing tall.

_ This doesn’t make any sense; he’s supposed to be over a hundred. _

Zuko echoes her thoughts. “You’re the airbender? You’re the  _ Avatar _ ?”

“There’s no time for questions, Zuko. We have a fight to win,” Aiko says, steadying her breath.

The Avatar points his staff at them, determination written across his face. Murmurs sound behind him from the villagers as Aiko nods to Zuko.  _ You go left and I go right. _

He goes right.  _ Fine. Fine, I can improvise. _

“I’ve spent years preparing for this encounter. Training, meditating, and it turns out you’re just a child!” Zuko says, locking eyes with the Avatar. His face was twisted with resentment for a boy he’d just met, and it took all of Aiko’s willpower to not look the same. She instead creeps behind the airbender, trying to analyze the way his attention shifts from his two attackers.

_ A good warrior is under control. I will not fall into the same traps as before, I won’t let my emotions get in the way. _

The Avatar comes out of his stance, tilting his head towards Zuko. “Well, you’re both just teenagers.”

_ Here’s my chance _ .  _ A momentary lapse in attention – perfect. _

Everything else falls away as Aiko swings her leg in a roundhouse kick, creating a mediocre arc of flame. The Avatar yelps, whipping around to spin his staff, diffusing the flame. He leaps back from his position in-between the twins, visibly struggling to keep up with their barrage of fire. He moves and evades, circling them, stopping before the villagers. One strong blast from Zuko makes it past the Avatar, brushing against the water tribe. Aiko sees the airbender pause, looking back at those behind him. He turns back, defeat evident in his eyes. Some part of her feels a vindictive rush of satisfaction at seeing him so weak.

“If I go with you two, will you promise to leave these people alone?” He asks, now with an edge to his voice.

There is a moment’s pause, as if the world was taking a breath.

Aiko watches Zuko out of the corner of her eye, waiting for his decision. He pulls out of his stance, nodding once, moving to step back.

“Wait!” Aiko holds out a hand to the Avatar, gaze not leaving him. “My brother and I should  _ discuss this _ ,” she hisses, marching over to Zuko to pull him close. “This could be a trap. For all we know, he will get aboard our ship and destroy it from the inside. You and I need to tread very,  _ very _ , carefully. No mistakes can be made,” she whispers to him.

Her brother wretches him arm out of her grasp. “You think I don’t know that? I can handle him.”

“You mean  _ we _ can handle him.”

“Whatever.”

‘“Uh, guys?” The Avatar. He seems hesitant to speak. Good. “Am I coming with or not?”

“I – sure. Yes,” Aiko says, trying her best to sound like a leader, motioning her soldiers to put him in cuffs. She turned on her heel to follow him, doing her best to ignore Zuko’s glare.

From behind, Aiko hears one of the water tribe girls cry out, “No Aang, don’t do this!”

“Don’t worry Katara. It’ll all be okay,” the Avatar, Aang, answers, smiling. “Take care of Oppa for me before I get back!” Soon, his smile is lost in the shadow of Aiko’s ship.

She watches the villagers deflate, despair evident, and feels… something in the pit of her stomach. Dismissing it, she follows her brother into the bowels of her ship.

“Set a course for the Fire Nation,” he commands. “We’re going home.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aiko tries to imprison the Avatar, and things go awry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much @Grindall for helping me beta this story! have fun with chapter two, it's a lot of action

Aiko marches quickly in the narrow hallway, back ramrod straight.  _ The Avatar told the water-tribe girl to take care of something before he got back. That means he  _ must _ have a plan to escape. Zuko may be confident in his victory, but I’m going to be smarter than that – smarter than him. A good warrior thinks ahead. _

Removing her from her thoughts was the sight of a familiar old man nursing a cup of tea, meandering along the hallway with a faint smile.

“Ah! Congratulations on your victory today. Would you like to join me in my room to celebrate?” he asks, smiling up at her.

Aiko tries to remove the stiff scowl from her face. “Not now, Uncle. I’ve been thinking about your warning about the Avatar, calling him one of the most legendary person in the world. Well, I think – no, I  _ know _ he plans escape, and I’m going to be there to stop it.”  _ I’m not about to let a mere child keep me from returning home. _

He hums. “You seem to have considered this greatly, in the span of just a few minutes. Funny, how that works.” His lazy smile seems to have become tighter,  _ or maybe I’m just paranoid. _

“Yes, funny,” Aiko says, unable to pull away from her dour expression.

“Just be careful to not obsess over this, Princess Aiko. Fixation and obsession can consume even the most rational of firebenders.”

_ More advice. It seems a lesson more befitting of Zuko – at least  _ I’m  _ capable of keeping a level head, and not spouting whatever angry thought floats through my mind.  _ “Thank you, Uncle. I’ll think about it,” she says diplomatically. “Right now I have to join Zuko on deck with the Avatar. Maybe you could escort me.”

“Why, gladly.” Uncle holds out the crook of his arm for Aiko to take and they start to walk slowly along the corridor, arm in arm.

“I think we’re in bit of a rush, Uncle. Zuko wants us on the deck  _ now _ ,” Aiko says, ignoring the warmth she feels at the pit of her stomach. Uncle hums softly and makes no move to change his slow pace, still sipping his tea. She tugs him along the corridor and they eventually stop at a metal door. Aiko motions for her uncle to open it, realizing she hadn’t a hand to spare.

The two come out into the Southern sun to see Zuko and a few of his men surrounding the Avatar, yellow outfit standing out amongst the red and grey.

“This staff will make an excellent gift for my father,” Zuko says, examining the wooden thing. “I suppose you wouldn’t know of fathers, being raised by monks.” The Avatar stiffens.  _ Has he hit a nerve? Or maybe it’s the manhandling of his staff - yeah, that’s probably more likely. Who cares about their father? Not me, that’s for sure. Never, nope. Who even is that guy? Fire Lord who? _

Aiko and Uncle come up from behind Zuko, and she detaches herself from him, coming to the Avatar’s side. Up close, she notices little details about him, such as the blue arrow on his head that trailed down to his hands, or how his eyes were gray. She’d never seen anyone with gray eyes before.

“Aiko, take the Avatar to the prison hold. Uncle, take this to my quarters,” Zuko said coldly, handing the staff to Uncle.

“What is he, your servant?” Aiko calls out to her brother’s receding back. He faintly scoffs. Frowning, she turns to one of the nearby soldiers. “Hey, you, bring this to your prince’s room.”

“Thank you, Ping,” Uncle says, handing it off. “I think I’m going to relax now. Princess Aiko, if you need me –”

“I know, Uncle.” She watches him stroll inside before turning back to the Avatar. “You, with me.”

The two soldiers have to practically drag him across the deck, the Avatar grunting in protest all the while. She motions them to walk ahead of her, not wanting to take her sights off the boy. They walk down a set of stairs into the ship’s interior, descending into yet another hallway. After a few moments of silence, the boy speaks up, his voice betraying his youth. “So… I guess you’ve never fought an airbender before,” he says, looking back at Aiko. “I bet I could take all three of you with both hands tied behind my back.”

She tenses. Is this how battles begin? “Try anything and I’ll make sure you spend the rest of the trip in the infirmary,” Aiko glowers.  _ Betray no emotion, no fear. He should see you as an imperial Fire Nation princess, and nothing less. _

Their group stops before one of the cells, with the first soldier pulling out a key. Just as he moves to put it in the lock, the Avatar takes a great gulp of air, giving Aiko only a split second to realize what he was about to do. 

All the breath is knocked out of her with a grunt as she goes flying back, landing in a heap on the stairs under the second soldier. She scrambles to escape from underneath the man, trying to leap up the stairs only to stumble, head pounding.

_ I must’ve hit my head on the fall. Breathe, Aiko. You can’t afford to lose this. _

Pushing past the aching in her skull, she stumbles up the staircase to see the airbender blast open a door with a kick. She races after him, counting on the fact that she has one good hand to use, as well as extensive knowledge of the ship. The airbender glances behind his shoulder, eyes widening when he realizes who chases him. The two wind and twist through the halls, pushing off walls at each turn, not risking a cease in momentum.  _ Lucky for me, his hands are tied, or I’d be left in the dust by now. Note to self – never chase after an airbender. Even now, the boy is light on his feet. _

Eventually, the Avatar turns a corner and is halted by two guards wielding machetes. A shark’s grin creeps up Aiko’s face as she pants heavily, trying to both catch her breath and maintain dignity.

“You’re trapped! Give up, and we won’t knock your brains out,” one of the guards warns.  _ Listen to him, and my job will be immeasurably easier. Not that you care about that. _

The airbender just brightly smiles. “I’m just looking for my staff – you wouldn’t happen to know where it is?”

The soldiers slowly raise their weapons, confused.

“Well, what are you waiting for?  _ Attack him! _ ” Aiko commands, deepening into a firebending stance.

The Avatar jumps and airbends onto the low ceiling, circling over the many soldiers in front of him. Aiko pushes them aside to continue her chase, watching with growing dread as the boy weaves in-between legs and leaps over heads. Grunting, she sprints after him, letting the adrenaline fuel her chaotic dash.

They take sharp turns, rocket down hallways, and climb up stairs. Aiko loses track of it all, and the only thing in her vision is the flicker of yellow and orange ahead of her. At one corridor, the boy gives a brief pause in front of a fire bender’s blast, before leaping over it, only to come down to kick his head, knocking the man to the ground. With a jolt, Aiko realizes that he used the soldier’s helmet to undo his bindings.  _ Oh spirits _ . _ One of my two advantages is gone. Great. Just awesome. _

Aiko has to duck to avoid the remainder of soldier’s fire, before pushing off the wall to run after him, barely jumping over the downed soldier’s body.

_ He may be faster than me; he may be a better bender, whatever. But I have something he doesn’t –  _ determination.

With each stride, Aiko grows sloppier. Her footsteps are heavy and aching as the Avatar’s back gets further and further away from her, until she can barely keep up with his twists and turns.

_ A good warrior keeps going. I  _ have _ to keep going. _

She sees him glance over his shoulder, eyes widening in disbelief at the sight of her. His acknowledgement spurs her on, and it becomes slightly easier to ignore the burning sensation in her lungs.

“Don’t you ever stop?” he asks over his shoulder, taking a moment to open a door, peeking inside.

Aiko just glares at him, not daring to pause for even a moment.  _ He must be looking for something – that staff, maybe. That’s good, while he wastes time opening doors, looking for Zuko’s room, I can catch up with him. It seems all this boy can do is evade me. Airbenders. Insane, all of them. _

The Avatar opens many doors but takes only a glance inside each, before the growing sound of Aiko’s footsteps spurs him on again. With every second he wastes wrenching open one of the metal things, she gets closer, regaining what distance she lost.

Eventually, Aiko and the airbender get close to where she knows Uncle and Zuko’s rooms to be. She just prays to the spirits that the Avatar wouldn’t bother –  _ oh, there he goes, opening Uncle’s door _ . At this point, Aiko was an arm’s reach away from the boy, and he twists around to face her in front of the door, eyes wide as discs.

Both of them freeze at the close proximity, with Aiko all too aware of the snoring that comes from inside the room.  _ Spirits, of all the times to catch up with him. Couldn’t I have done this in front of some broom closet?  _ “Wake him, and I’ll kill you,” she hisses, still trying to catch her breath.

“Sorry,” the airbender whispers, gently closing the door. He pivots on his heel and rockets down the hall once again. Cursing under her breath, Aiko belatedly follows.  _ It was between fighting in front of Uncle or doing the one thing that could bring Zuko and I home. Why did I do that? Also, what kind of enemy apologizes? The ten-year-old kind, I guess. _

Eventually, the Avatar wretches open Zuko’s door, stumbling into his room where the wooden stick laid against the wall.

“My staff!” he exclaims, scrambling towards the thing. He looks back to find Aiko in the doorway, slamming the metal door shut, locking it. Its sound ricochets through the room, and she can’t help but stiffen.

“How have I not lost you yet?” the boy asks incredulously.  _ Good question. _

Aiko chooses to just scowl at the boy, trying not to betray how winded she is. She moves to the center of Zuko’s room and widens her legs into a firebending stance, punching a burst of flame towards him. He dodges with ease and grace, landing lightly on his feet. She then does a side kick, yielding a much brighter fire, and the boy leaps away yet again. She tries to move quickly but soon finds that keeping up with the airbender is much harder than it seems, as each time one of her legs push out to blast the boy, he springs away, leading to a repetitive, exhausting, sequence of attacks.

Another ball of fire, another dodge, another ball of fire, another dodge, again and again, until both were left winded and sloppy. Sweat beads her forehead, and loose hairs dangle in her face.

_ Who can keep this up the longest? Whose lungs and muscles will give out first? _

Evidently, the Avatar, as he backs into a corner, heaving. The boy just barely jumps out of the way of Aiko’s burst of flame, clambering across the ground in the face of her relentlessness. He just manages to roll under her legs, leap over her head, and practically cling to her back, managing to twist out of her line of sight. Each time she tries to face him, he twists back behind her. She can smell him, the stench of cold air and sweat. She has to suppress a shudder knowing she smells the same way.

From the metal door, there’s a pounding. “Open up, Avatar! I know you’re in there!” Zuko calls out, voice muffled.

“I’m –” Aiko starts, kicking a jet of flame, “– in the middle –” trying to pivot to face the Avatar _, “_ of something!”

Their backs were to each other, footwork akin to some violent, messy dance. She grows increasingly frustrated with the Avatar’s evasion, as the technique the boy uses is beyond anything she’s ever seen before. The blasts he doesn’t manage to dodge are diffused, and he spins behind her at just the right moment as to escape her reach.

Her barrage of flame creates flickering golden lights reflected in the metallic walls, and his orange and yellow robes, flitting around the room, nearly creates an impression of a bird. It would’ve been breathtaking, had Aiko not been in the middle of a fight.

To get out of their loop of attacking and dodging, the Avatar uses the momentum from one jump to twist onto his leg, bouncing off Aiko, flipping into the air, and creating a ball of wind beneath him. With this, the boy glides on the walls, circling above, around, and under Aiko. Her punches and kicks become long arcs of flame as she tries, in vain, to hit the boy.

From the door, Aiko still has to contend with Zuko’s distractions. “Let me  _ in, _ ” he cries out, pounding on the door.  _ Just wait there and, if I lose, the boy will come out to you. You’re in a good tactical position, calm down!  _ Suddenly, the banging stops, and she hears footsteps recede, presumably to find another way in.  _ I have to do everything, don’t I? _

Spurred on, Aiko’s bending quickens.  _ Spirits, let’s just get this over with. _ She pauses her kicks for a moment, eyes following the Avatar as he glides across the room. Just when the boy’s back was turned, her left hand jabs the air, creating a push of flame that knocks the airbender onto his stomach. He lands in front of one of the many Fire Nation banners that “decorate” the room. The boy rips it from the wall with a grunt, spinning around to wrap the red cloth around Aiko, effectively disabling her. She furiously struggles against her bindings, ripping out of them with a decidedly undignified roar.

The boy shivers, eyes wide.  _ Good _ .

Aiko returns to her stance, teeth bared.  _ This time, he won’t get the upper hand. Remember to – _

“Oof!” Aiko is slammed into the wall by a blast of air and crumples on the ground. The pounding in her skull from the last time the boy threw her against a wall returns, doubled. The metal floor feels like a feather bed.

_ No, I have to keep go  _ –

The airbender knocks her onto the ceiling, and she falls down with a heavy thud. Faintly, as if through a fog, she hears his footstep recede. She tries to muster the energy to feel angry with the boy, but instead finds shame at the pit of her stomach.  _ I’ve been beaten by a child with his hands tied behind his back. What kind of firebender  _ loses  _ to such a weak opponent _ ?

Some part of her tries to reason that this was the Avatar, not just some ordinary kid, and his hands weren’t tied for the  _ whole _ fight, but Aiko’s brain wasn’t having it. Shaking, she tries to push herself up with her right hand and is hit with a wave of dizziness.  _ Move past it. Push on; you think Dad became Fire Lord by stopping when he got dizzy? You think Sozin expanded the nation by giving up? _

She makes her way out of the room, only to find the Avatar nowhere in sight. Scanning the hallway, she sees one of the hatches in the ceiling is hanging open and marches over. The low ceiling allows the open hatch to be easy to reach, so luckily, undignified flailing isn’t required. Grunting, Aiko hauled herself up into the dusty space between this floor and the next, trying not to cough up dust.  _ Why would he – oh. We’re right under the control center; it’s the top of the ship. _

It seems the Avatar had burst through the hatch, went through the ventilation space, and up towards the room above. Sorely lacking the grace or abilities of an airbender, Aiko is all too aware of how messy her hair is, how sticky her sweat is, and how filthy her hands are from grasping the space in between the ceiling as she ascends.

She finally manages to climb onto the control room’s floor, squinting at the sudden change in brightness. This is the very top of the ship, and the only level with a balcony.  _ There! _ A small yellow and orange form, darting over the equipment and racing for the open sky. She scrambles to her feet, leaping over the equipment, feet pounding on the metal floor, before bursting outside, only to see the Avatar lift off with his glider. She’s at the edge of the balcony. The ship’s deck is beneath her and beyond that, ice and snow. The horizon goes on forever up here.

_ You can’t seriously be considering – he’s only a few feet away! –It’s too dangerous, remember what Uncle – I don’t  _ care  _ what Uncle said, this is my only chance. _

Aiko backs up a few feet.  _ Now. _ All thoughts leave her head, until all that’s left are the sensations which envelop her: the icy wind, the absence of ground beneath her feet, her heart’s racing pulse, and the strain of her outstretched arm.

Her left hand is suddenly grasping an ankle, and she feels the boy falter in his flight, yelping. They start to spiral – the glider wasn’t meant for two people – and both can’t help but scream. They land in a jumbled heap on the deck, both bodies tired and bruised. Pushing herself with a grunt, Aiko stands to see Zuko standing tall, backed by his men. The Avatar is caught between them.

He warily picks up his staff, probably to fly off, and Aiko knows that, at this point, she would leap into freezing waters just to follow him. He pivots so that he can watch both Aiko and Zuko, having learned from his last battle with the two of them.

From the endless blue sky comes an animalistic groan, and their heads whip up to see a giant, furry, six-legged monster flying in the sky. Aiko’s eyes widen and her jaw goes slack as she bears witness to the impossible.

Zuko, on the other hand, doesn’t seem so stunned. Sure, he utters an expression of disbelief, but quickly moves onto motioning his soldiers to circle the Avatar. His soldiers unsheathe their swords, and Aiko can guess that they’re scowling under their helmets.

The Avatar doesn’t seem to notice, calling out some name in the direction of the flying ball of fur.  _ It doesn’t even have wings. Even  _ dragons _ have wings! _

Zuko bends fire at the Avatar, who struggles to dissipate it with a twirl of his staff. The blast knocks him off his feet, and he has to use his staff as a sort of rotating propeller, like if birds had one wing and just moved it in a 360 degree circle really quickly. Weird, how it works.

The airbender floats a few feet off the ground, hovering right beside Aiko. She reaches up and yanks his ankle down; thankful once again that she’s, at least, tall. He lands on the floor with a thump, and scrambles to get up. Aiko uses her left hand to pin down his right, and slams her right knee onto his left wrist. Her sweaty hair droops down, tickling the boy’s cheeks. She can’t be more than a foot from his face, and from here, staring into those strange grey eyes, she sees once again how young the boy is. Suddenly, Zuko’s exclamation pops into her head. “ _ You’re the Avatar?” _ In the three years of their fruitless search, she’d pictured finding some stern, wizened monk who would tower over her, barely registering her presence. Now, fear is etched in the young Avatar’s face, and Aiko feels that shame at the pit of her stomach rise up again.

“What are you waiting for?” Zuko yells from behind.

_ I don’t know. Why don’t I know what to do? _

The boy makes a decision for her, using the gap under her legs to slip out from under her. She scrambles to stand, only to see Zuko having a fierce battle with the boy. The firebender pushes him back, again and again, until the boy loses grip of his staff and goes tumbling over the edge.

Aiko, Zuko, and all of their soldiers rush to the side of the ship to watch his plunge.

From atop the flying fur-ball, a girl’s anguished voice cries out. “Aang!”

“I’m going in,” Aiko tells Zuko, who stood right beside her. His brows knot and he looks at her, really looks at her, for the first time since they spotted those damned lights. She doesn’t even know what’s compelling her to jump after the boy. On one hand, she has to capture him, and the Avatar is supposed to return alive. On the other, the sight of his young, grey eyes hopelessly afraid of her won’t leave her memory.

Not willing to waste another second, Aiko vaults over the side of the ship and dives into the freezing water. Its chill immediately envelops her; so overwhelming she almost stops right then. The water’s depths are dark, and her eyes aren’t built for such places. She strains to see the boy’s sinking form through the inky shadows as she pushes downward, gritting her teeth.

With each stroke, the cold threatens to lock up her joints and halt her heart.  _ It would be so easy to just… stop. To just relax, and let the water take me. I wouldn’t have to face my father, I wouldn’t have to spend my years wandering an arctic summer, I wouldn’t have to bear through one of Zuko’s bad moods, or one of Uncle’s games of Pai Sho. _

The boy’s form becomes closer.

_ I wouldn’t see Zuko or Uncle again. I’d be lost, at the bottom of this cold, dark ocean. _

The boy is just an arm’s length away.

_ And he’d be lost too. _

Finally, her numb fingers make contact, and she grasps his shirt so tightly a part of her is afraid it’ll rip. Going up is so much easier than going down, and her legs barely have to kick in their ascension.  _ Good thing too – I can’t feel them. _

The two burst above the water, gasping. Aiko furiously blinks the salt water away from her eyes and feels them sting horribly. The boy is limp in her arms, most likely knocked unconscious from the force of the water hitting his back on the fall. They arose far from the ship, or at least what felt like a hundred miles, as Aiko knew that she’d never be able to swim that distance in the state she was in. She could barely keep herself afloat, much less swim carrying another person and going against the current.  _ So it was all for nothing. I can’t even save people correctly. _

Breaking her out of her sullen thoughts was a roar from above. She sees the flying fur-ball circle around them, slowly descending.

“H-h-hurry up,” she tries to yell, but finds she can’t feel her lips, and her teeth are uncontrollably chattering.

The thing comes down from the sky, landing softly in the water a short distance away. There are two water-tribe people on its back, sitting on a large saddle saddle. Up close, the thing seems a lot larger than Aiko previously thought it was.  _ It could definitely eat me if it wanted to. _

She struggles to swim towards their extended hands, which retract when they realize who holds their friend.

“It’s  _ you _ ,” the water-tribe boy snarls. She recognizes him as the one who charged at Zuko, to little success.

Aiko can’t even muster up the energy to glare at him and just holds out her right hand for them to pull on. The boy reluctantly hauls her up, with the girl reaching out to take the Avatar.

Aiko collapses on the saddle, now assaulted with the freezing winds. From the corner of her eye, she sees the girl take off her heavy coat and drape it across the Avatar’s body. Her companion, the one with the boomerang, glares at her.

“I hope you don’t think I’m going to offer you  _ my _ coat.”

Aiko manages to give him a mocking smile through her chattering teeth, trying to show the kid how little she thought of his offer.

He scoffs. “Fine. Die of hypothermia. See if I care.”

“J-just dump m-me,” she says, indicating the metal ship that rose out of the water.

The two share a look. “What’s the harm?” the girl asks. The boy elbows her. With an understanding look dawning on her face, she sternly turns to Aiko. “As long as you promise to leave our tribe alone. Otherwise, we’ll drop you right back in the ocean.”

Aiko shrugs, the picture of apathy.  _ The Avatar is right next to me, unconscious. That’s the whole reason I risked my life, wasn’t it? To capture him? And now I’m just supposed to walk off – _

Her thoughts were interrupted by a shiver that wracked her body.  _ Who am I kidding? I can barely move, much less beat these two in a fight. Spirits, that’s hard to admit. _

The girl moves to the thing’s head and says some gibberish, and the flying fur-mountain ascends from the water with a roar. Wind whips at Aiko’s face, and she’s treated to the sight of an incredible landscape of ice and water with a bird’s eye view. Briefly, she’s overcome with an urge to paint it all. Next to her, the Avatar’s sleep is relatively peaceful, considering the day he’s had.  _ Maybe all of his days are like this. Is that what my life is going to become, chasing this fool across the globe? _

She tries to imagine fighting him again, knowing that she once gripped him tight and raised him from the bowels of this arctic sea, right after staring into his eyes and being ashamed of the fear that lay there. How could she ever strike him down and sentence him to spend the rest of his life in the depths of the Fire Nation’s prison, knowing his name is Aang and that he flits around the room like a sparrow, instead of attacking?

_ You saved him because you thought it’d be awfully inconvenient to drag a dead body out of these waters. But did I? I don’t know. Spirits, I wish this wasn’t so complicated. Why couldn’t the Avatar be an evil old man? _

They approach the ship, an ugly black mark on the white and blue panorama. The girl moves to help Aiko stand, but she waves her off. Still dripped wet, she leans heavily on the edge of the saddle, watching with slight sadistic glee as the giant furry animal lands on deck with a resounding  _ thwump _ , knocking the soldiers back – including Zuko.

“Get his staff!” The girl commands, as Aiko stumbles off the beast’s back.  _ Me? _

She feels ready to collapse, weighed down by her sopping clothes, her aching muscles, and the growing guilt on her shoulders. She’s faintly aware of the two villagers fighting some of her men, but she’s too absorbed in making sure each foot lands in front of the other as she walks away from the scene.

Eventually, Aiko makes it inside. It’s warmer here, and the sun isn’t glaring at her. The sight of Uncle, who envelops her in a hug, greets her bleary eyes. She’s too tired to protest his blatant show of affection.

“My, you’ve had a long day,” he says softly. He abruptly pulls out of the warm embrace, scolding, “Look at you – you’re a mess! Get changed, and you can meet me to warm up with a nice cup of tea, and tell me all about what’s happened.”

“I’d like that.”

There’s a rumbling outside, and the floor beneath them quakes. Uncle frowns. “I guess it’ll have to wait a moment.” 

Both go onto the deck to see a mountain of snow and ice on the deck of their ship, as well as a gaping hole in one of the icebergs looming above. Zuko kneels on a patch of free space, scowling.  _ What happened here?  _

“Well, it’s good news for the Fire Lord. Our greatest threat is only a little kid,” Uncle says, somehow optimistic in the face of the avalanche right in front of him.

“That  _ kid _ , Uncle, just did this,” Zuko utters darkly. “I won’t underestimate him again.” He turns around. “Dig this ship out and follow them!”

  
Aiko realizes that the men Zuko tried to command are encased in ice, meaning one of those two riding the fur-giant were waterbenders.They were slowly being thawed with torches and steady firebending. Aiko’s sympathy for the Avatar starts to wean, staring at the mess surrounding her.  _ He must’ve woken, only to bring  _ this _ down on my ship. And after I saved his life! Some gratitude. Was he even drowning? Was he just faking it in a ploy to get rid of me? No – you’re being paranoid. The boy barely knows you. Do as Uncle suggested and get some clean clothes on. I’m sure you smell disgusting.  _

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! i'll try to post a new chapter every week.


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